Roguelite doesn't mean is has meta-progression at all.

Roguelite just means it's a game with some roguelike elements, but not a roguelike itself.


So here we have procedural generation + permadeath, so a game focused on replayability, being enough to be considered a roguelite.

Although there is some kind of progression, in the form of unlockables, shown at the menu.

But no passive stat stacking like others.

Meaning you won't start stronger, but you may become stronger during runs the more you play with more stuff unlocked.

It's not actually made to carry you, but to allow you to tackle higher difficulties.


Roguelike doesn't mean it lacks metaprogression, it just mean it's very close to the classic "Rogue" game, with as much core elements as possible, like trying to be a "clone" of it to some extent, or at least an spiritual successor of some sort.

If you can unlock better stuff for next runs then that is the meaning of roguelite, you are stronger because you did not have that until you unlocked it.

Originally posted by CptnSpandex:

that is the meaning of roguelite

There're roguelites with stackable stat progresison that "carries you", there're roguelites that just adds more variety on perks/pickups (usually stronger, yes, but still, random, so you may not find them), and there're roguelites with no progression whatsoever (just add variety above anything else, barely making you stronger at all directly).

Again, roguelite doesn't have anything to do with progression, progression is just a way to "reward playtime" on some, on others is the "main way" for you to be able to beat the game, and on others it just adds even more replayability gradually than anything else. So, there's no rule regarding roguelite and progression of any kind, it's just a few standards adopted here and there.

Roguelite isn't even a proper genre with many specific rules, as the gameplay itself can vary a lot - it's just a game resolved around replayability with permadeath more than anything else.

So yes, progression is often a way to add replayability, but still... very broad ways to use it.


By the way, in this game, you also unlock "harder enemies", elite variants by defeating their normal versions, and killing an amount of such elites, you actually unlock new runes. So it kinda makes the game harder before *maybe* making you stronger (as runes are random).

Originally posted by Darkness:

Again, roguelite doesn't have anything to do with progression

So unlocking new items that you could pick up in the next run or getting permanent upgrades is not progression, hmmm k then lol.